Great Plains Daily Devotional for 12/2/2020

Isaiah 11:1-9

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
    and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
    the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the spirit of counsel and might,
    the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
    or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
    and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
    the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
    and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
    and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
    on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

This gray November morning, I find myself in the anger stage of grief.  I have been in denial that we could possibly have a normal Advent and Christmas this year. I’ve moved past that and on to anger. Like most of us, I am tired of quarantines and news of friends in the hospital. I am tired of attending events virtually and things being cancelled.  This time of year is hard for me anyway. My mother passed away a few years ago just before Thanksgiving and my father in early December many years ago.  It’s cold and gray and we’re headed into winter, my least favorite season.  How long, O Lord?

Through the ages, God’s people have asked that same question.  How long will we endure slavery? How long will we wander in the desert? How long will we be oppressed by cruel foreign invaders? How long, O Lord? And yet- and yet- always there is a shining ray of hope.  The prophets told of a day when God’s vision for the world would be realized. The captives would be set free, the wanderers would find the promised land and God would send His Son to save us.

As I struggle with my anger, I am reminded that there are still those who endure slavery, injustice, feeling lost and oppressed. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I am called to light a candle for those still living in darkness. And I find that, when I take my eyes off of myself, my selfish anger washes away and I can reach out with the light of Christ to take hope to a world that is in desperate need of it right now.

Prayer for Reflection

Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37